Coming Together
by Seosh
Summary: Sequel to "Our Dance"   A story of Tiva coming together *hence the title*. A little fluff and Case! Not necessary to read "Our Dance". Now Complete!
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I'm back! So we're just gonna continue where we left off, from "Our Dance: Chapter 15".

It is not necessary to read "Our Dance" if you haven't read it, but if you read "Our Dance" than you would get a better grip with their familiarity with each other! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own it T_T

**Chapter 1**

The very next morning after Tony and I had spent another late night at the office; was rather interesting. _And when I say interesting, it's weird._

Gibbs strolled into the bullpen with his usual cup of coffee, three other cups and a smile plastered on his face. McGee scrunched his face as he examined the cup Gibbs had passed him. He chuckled at that and walked to my desk, and carefully placed the coffee cup on my desk.

"Hey boss," Tony greeted him with a wide smile as Gibbs approached him, "what's up with you today?"

A small smile crept up on Gibbs face as he handed Tony remaining cup, he then walked away towards Abby's lab; and left us all speechless.

"Anyone did something to him I don't know about?" Tony asked blankly as he cautiously "checked" his cup.

"Uhh, I don't think so, I didn't do anything…" McGee stammered.

"Probie! It's a simple question with a simple answer, yes or no?" Tony took a sip from his cup as he walked up towards McGee. McGee shook his head and backed away to his computer.

He then turned as looked at me, "how about you, Ziva?"

"Well Tony, he was perfectly fine yesterday, and since I didn't have a _chance_ to talk to him yesterday, my answer would be no," I smirked at him, as I emphasized the word "chance". He looked at me, a smile played on his face; then returned to his desk.

"What happened yesterday that you didn't get a chance to talk to Gibbs?" McGee darted his eyes between Tony and I.

"Nothing," Tony and I both answered in unison. This confused McGee even more as he dwelled on whether to leave it be or push on.

Before he had the chance a very happy Abby bounced into the bullpen, "Hey guys!"

"What are you so happy about, Abby?" I asked.

"You haven't heard? Spain won of course!" She jumped around more, "and I won a whole lot of money! Dinner's on me tonight guys!"

I sat there as I observed everyone move towards Tony's desk and began planning what we'd do tonight.

After Tony's break down last night, I couldn't help but wonder how he'd put on a mask like this for the past five years.

"Earth to Ziva! Are you there?" Abby waved her hand in front of my face, "anyways we're going to go to that fancy new Italian restaurant tonight and then we'll head to the club where my friends' band is playing at!"

I nodded my head, "Oh, do you know why Gibbs is so cherry today?"

"Cheery, Ziva," Tony corrected me. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't know, he got me a mega-size Caf-Pow today, which was nice, but he never does that," Abby swung her arms around, "hmm, maybe I'll interrogate him later, like full on torture". A smile grew on her face, and then faltered.

"He's right behind me right?" Abby raced off towards her lab, "Just kidding Gibbs!"

We all broke into laughter, "get back to work," Gibbs barked.

"McGee, what ya got?" He moved to turn on his computer. McGee stood.

"Uhh boss? We don't have a case," Gibbs head snapped up.

"Oh really…" he thought for a moment then headed towards MTAC, "take the day off! Tell Abs too!"

After we informed Abby of the new change in events, we'd all decided to take the day off and meet at the restaurant at 1730.

xoxo

I spent my eight hours relaxed, soaked in a green tea bath, and then taking a nice long nap. My neck ached from the night before. _ And I won't lie; it was the best sleep I've had since I've gotten back from… Somalia. _

**Brrrpp! Brrrpp! **My phone vibrated across the side table.

I grabbed it clumsily and answered, "Shalom?"

"Hey Ziva! Where are you? It's like 5:25, and I'm the only one here," I got up and made my way to my bedroom to change into a more appropriate attire.

"Okay Tony, I'll be there in 5 minutes," I closed the phone and picked out a black dress accompanied with a pair of black heels. I slipped them on and made my way to the restaurant.

"Ziva's here everyone!" I heard Abby announce my arrival.

I walked up to them, I greeted Tony with a hug, "you look beautiful," he whispered in my ear. I pulled back and smiled at him before Abby engulfed me in a breath taking hug, "Oh you look so good Ziva!".

McGee nodded his head as a sign of greeting as Abby continued to hug me, "Abby, you could let go now".

The maître d' led us to our table situated at the back of the restaurant. Abby had started us of with an appetizer of mushroom caps and a bottle of champagne. I ordered myself an Eggplant Parmesan, Tony got himself a Seafood Provino, McGee had the Chicken Marsala and Abby ordered two Lobster Ravioli's because she insisted she was starving.

After nearly two hours or eating, talking and laughing we finished our dinner and were making our way to the club.

"Guys! Why'd you let me eat two plates of lobster ravioli?" Abby whined as we left the restaurant.

"We told you so Abby," McGee laughed, "Hey how 'bout we just use my car?"

We agreed and within 10 minutes we arrived at the club a couple blocks down. It was now nearly 8:00 as we entered the club. Music blasted our ears as we ordered drinks and settled into a booth. As we just got comfortable, Abby grabbed McGee and dragged him to the dance floor, "My friends band is up!"

Tony slid across the booth and closed the gap between us. My heart began to beat faster as his scent invaded my space.

"Hey, look I'm sorry about last night, but thanks for listening", he said apologetically.

"It was my pleasure Tony," I sipped my drink, "to be honest, I am the one who is sorry".

He shook his head furiously, "for what? You haven't done anything wrong".

"I've done everything wrong, I lied to you about Michael and Ari…" He turned his head away as he pretended not to listen.

"Tony!" At this he turned his head back and looked into my eyes, "we can't just keep dancing around this, we've been through all this because of me, what you told me last night… I made your troubles worse when I came to NCIS".

"Don't say that".

"Why not? It is the truth," I looked at him, "we'll be stuck where we are right now, if we don't say anything," I sighed, "I have to admit through the past few months we've gained back the trust we lost".

"You're right," he merely whispered, "about everything". We sat in silence for about a minute before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry for not believing your instincts in LA, for meddling with your life when y'know… Michael," He stopped there, eyes distant; the rest understood.

"I'm also sorry about not telling you about Jeanne… that blew up well didn't it?" My face saddened as I remembered the day Tony's care blew up, and we had believed he was dead for several hours, "bad pun, sorry".

"I killed Ari, my brother," I said plainly, I felt his eyes dart towards me.

"What? I thought Gibbs…"

"No," I chuckled, "my family is messed up isn't it?"

"Well you have us now," He grabbed my hand, "our dysfunctional, weird family".

I smirked at that, "Yes you guys seem to be more of a family to me, then anyone has ever".

"Yeh, Ducky the grandfather, Gibbs the over protective father, Vance the weird uncle…" Tony laughed.

"I guess that is true, Abby has become like a sister to me and McGee the little innocent brother," I took another sip of my drink, knowing what will come next.

"And me?" Tony's eyes grew dark as it pierced through me, by now I realize Tony was still holding onto my hand from before. I returned his gaze, not quite sure what to say.

I was saved by Abby and McGee as they rejoined us. "Hey! Are you guys going to sit here all night?" Abby gave us a questioning look.

"We'll be right out," Tony replied his gaze still on me. Abby shrugged and pulled McGee back towards the live band.

The loud music sounded like nothing as Tony deep voice spoke again, "And me?"

I didn't answer him, because he wasn't like a brother to me, he wasn't like a cousin to me, he was… special.

"Never mind," he let go of my hand and took a gulp of his drink. Before I could say anything else, he took my hand and led me out to the band, "C'mon Abby's waiting for us".

xoxo

So how'd you like that? I've got the next few chapters written, so the more reviews the quicker I'll post! REVIEW XD!


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. Haven't got many hits so far, so I'll wait awhile before posting Chapter 3.

Chapter 2

I woke up to a terrible headache after last night. I hardly remembered what happened; but my conversation with Tony was still lucid in my head.

I rubbed my eyes as I glanced a look towards the clock; 10:47. I stumbled out of bed and made my way towards the bathroom. It took me a moment to realize, the room I was in was not my apartment.

I looked around and familiarized myself with the surroundings. And then it came to me, I was at Abby's place!

"Hey sleepy head," Abby whispered as she walked into the room.

"Abby what am I doing here?" I asked confused.

"We had a sleep over, and girl you sure drowned yourself in a load of alcohol last night, "Abby smiled smugly as she sat on the bed.

I walked towards the door and closed it quietly, "Did I do anything stupid or embarrassing?"

Abby shook her head, "oh! But you did get up on stage and sing a song, actually we all did, it was pretty funny," her voice rose as she got excited.

"Abby! Not so loud," I said while I massaged my head. Abby mouthed a "sorry" before she dug out something from the drawer and handed it to me. I took the Advil gladly and swallowed it. I thanked Abby then entered the bathroom to clean myself up.

I was a mess as I looked into the mirror; I washed my face and tied my hair back into a ponytail. I found my heels on the floor next to the now neatly made bed; Abby had disappeared. I slipped on my heels, grabbed my clutch and snuck out of her apartment. As I was leaving I could see Tony and McGee still asleep on the couch.

Abby's place wasn't far from the restaurant we ate at last night, so I decided to head back to get my car. As I turned the corner I could hear someone call my name, "Ziva! Wait for me!"

_Tony._

"You gonna go get your car?" He asked as he caught up and walked beside me.

"Yes," I picked up my pace to cross the street, "I thought you were still asleep".

"It's called acting," he winked at me; I shook my head in disbelief.

It took 15 minutes to reach the parking lot of the restaurant, there were three cars parked there; Abby's, Tony's and mine.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Tony asked me as he opened his car door.

"Not that I know of, why?"

"Did you wanna come over for a movie and pizza?" he smiled charmingly.

"Alright, I'll be there at 7," I said as I hopped into my car.

Xoxo

When I reached home it was around 11:30am. I placed my keys on the hook and made my way to the bedroom. As I walked through the living room and kitchen I felt another presence in the apartment.

I instinctively reached for my gun. _Damn I'm wearing a dress._ I took a knife from my kitchen as I quietly moved around my apartment.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a shadow coming from the study. I crept up towards the door; I could smell a familiar aroma as I caught a glimpse of a silver haired man who stood looking out of my window.

"Gibbs?" I said as I placed my knife on the table.

"Hey Ziver," He turned his head to glance at me.

"What are you doing here?" I stood next to him and looked out the window.

He tilted his head down to look at me, "has this got anything to do with your happy mood yesterday?" I asked.

"Sort of," he finally managed to say.

"Sort of? What's this about Gibbs? It's usually us that visit you, not the other way around." I eyed him suspiciously.

"You'll find out soon enough," He retreated from the room and headed for the front door. I didn't get the chance to stop him as my phone began to ring. I sighed and moved to answer the phone.

"Shalom?"

"Hey it's Gibbs, we got a case, call the others and meet at the office in an hour".

"But… it's," I sighed as I was met with a dead line, "A Saturday".

I did as I was told and called the others and informed them about the new case.

I freshened up and changed into a pair of cargo pants and black v neck. I packed my gear and left my apartment to head to the office.

Xoxo

When I arrived I met Tony on the way up to the bullpen, "guess no movie night," he pouted disappointedly.

Abby and McGee were busy with something on the computer when we walked in.

"Hey McGoo, Hey Abby," Tony greeted them.

"Come on," Gibbs called out as he walked through the bullpen, towards the stairs. We followed him towards the director's office.

"I thought we had a case," McGee pointed out as we reached Vance's office. Gibbs pushed open the door and we assembled in a line after him.

"Good, you're here," Vance moved to close the door. We exchanged looks.

"McGee, we need you to go undercover with a computer company, we believe they may be involved in hacking the system of a bank and stealing the money at an unnoticeable rate," Vance explained.

"What's that got to do with NCIS?" Abby asked.

"Good question Miss Sciuto, well we suspect the head of this operation is a Petty Officer James Cole," For the next ten minutes we were filled in on the mission.

McGee was going to be a new employee at the company, while Tony and I befriended the suspect.

The mission was set to start on Monday, everyone were to meet here at 0730. After the briefing we were all dismissed.

"Still game for the movie and pizza?" Tony asked as we left Vance's office.

"Of course".

Xoxo

Tony led us into his apartment, pizza in hand. He set it on the table and went to get changed out of his suit.

He reappeared a few minutes later in a pair of sweats and a NCIS t-shirt.

"What should we watch?" he looked through his massive collection of DVD's. I lowered myself next to him as I looked for a movie.

"Tony, why do you have Barbie movies?" I questioned him as I found a set of four Barbie movies.

"Oh, I won that from a contest at the video rental store," He blushed, "oh we gotta watch this!" He showed me the cover, **Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.**

He placed the disc into the player and settled next to me on the couch.

"You two resemble each other so much," I laughed, as I watched the credits roll up the screen.

"That is incredibly true isn't it?" He laughed along.

He stopped laughing and his eyes softened as he looked at me, "Ziva?"

"Yes?" I gazed into his eyes, immediately lost in the mysterious green of his eyes.

"And me?" his eyes searched desperately into mine as he looked for an answer. I sighed and looked away from him.

"Ziva! You're the one who said we can't keep dancing around this," His hand gently caressed my cheek to face him.

"What am I to you?" My eyes fell upon his luscious lips as I avoided his question.

"Well, I crossed the ocean to avenge you," he spoke so softly, "and I can't live without you".

He gently played with my hands, "What are you to me? You are my everything". He looked up, as I sat there speechless.

"And me?" his eyes turned from a mysterious green to a warm green. I really didn't know what to say or how to answer him. So instead I leaned in, our mouths millimeters away. My heart pounded quicker and quicker as the gap between us became smaller and smaller.

Our lips met and as he relaxed his hands immediately rose to cup my face, mine snaked around his back and neck, as I melted into his gentle embrace. It felt completely different to the kiss we shared back when we were under cover.

It exploded with great passion and desire, as the tension between us was released. The kiss grew from soft and tender to a needier and rough touch as our tongues collided, both fighting for dominance.

We broke apart both breathless, our eyes were locked on each others. His eyes became those of a misty green, filled with desire as he stroked my face with his hand.

"I think that answers my question, "he smiled, and stole a quick chaste kiss…

Xoxo

Review! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N : Sorry 'bout the last version of this chapter, I originally wrote it in M but I changed it due to my rating change.

**Chapter 3**

I woke up in a great mood this morning, after last night. We spent the rest of the night watching movies, before I noticed, it was well into the morning and I had to leave. He had offered for me to stay over, but I declined. We agreed we were going to take things slow.

I got out of my bed and walked to my window, my eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light as the sun shone through the gaps of my curtains. I yawned. My clock chimed as the hands struck mid day; it was hotter than usual today so I settled on having a bath to cool down from the scorching heat.

I shed of my clothing, the humid air coming in contact with my now exposed skin felt as if it was strangling me. I reached to shut the water off. The water felt like silk against my skin as I immersed myself into the nearly overflowing tub.

I reached for the book Tony had insisted I buy and read as he described it "_a must read" _while we were in Paris. It was something about vampires, werewolves fighting over a girl in a place called "Forks". I_ broke up, was that right? Or was it cracked up? Either way I found it hilarious that the town was called Forks, considering the fact Tony told me what happened in all the books. Tony had been proud of me, claiming he had finally done his job._

I struggled through the first few pages of the book as my eyes began to feel sappy. I hadn't managed to reach chapter two before I drifted off to sleep.

My eyes peeped open as I felt something touch me, I looked down to notice I had dropped the book into the tub. I pulled it out to find it totally soaked through; pages were falling out as I held it in the air.

"So much for a great read…" I chuckled.

I rose from the tub and wrapped myself in a towel, as I disposed the book I noticed my fingers were pruned. I glanced at the time, _1442._ I hadn't thought I fell asleep for that long.

I drained the tub and got changed into a white tank top and a pair of shorts, as the temperature of my apartment smothered me.

My stomach growled as I entered the kitchen in search of food. I flipped through all the cabinets and finally settled on having a sandwich. I was half way through my sandwich while I watched old re-runs of Friends, when I realized I hadn't turned the air conditioning on. I switched it on and in a few moments cool air breezed through my apartment.

The doorbell rang just as I began to get bored of watching re-runs. I strolled to the door and peaked through the peephole. On the other side I could see Tony with a bag of take out in hand while his free hand played with this hair.

"Hey, can I come in?" He smiled as I opened the door. I opened in wider for him to enter.

"Thank god you have air conditioning," He set the take out down on the table, "mine broke, great timing isn't it?"

"Well aren't you lucky you have me," I said as I walked back out to the living room.

"What ya watching?" he called from the kitchen; cabinets clattered shut as he served up the food.

"Friends re-runs," I said plainly as he entered the room two plates in hand. I gladly took one from him, as he settled down next to me.

We made little conversation as we ate our dinner. There were a few "Hey's!" as we stole each other's food.

"Stop takin' my chicken!" He said playfully. I stuck my tongue out at him as I stole another. It wasn't long until we had finished our dinner.

He returned not long after from cleaning up the dishes. He swung his hand around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him. I laid my head on his chest as he kissed my head and inhaled my scent. I whispered into his ear seductively.

"Are you sure?" He asked, his face unconsciously moved closer to mine.

"Yes," I grinned up at him, his eyes glistened with delight. I moaned as his kisses trailed down my neck to my pulse point, carefully placing soft perfectly time kisses that sent chills down my body. He nibbled at my ear before he traced along my jaw line his stubble prickling me, I could feel his hesitation as he neared my mouth.

I moved my mouth to capture his as his soft plump lips tugged at the corner of my mouth. I nibbled his lip demanding entrance to his mouth. He allowed it willingly, our tongues soon tangled in an all out fight of dominance. My hand snaked behind his neck as I devoured his delicious mouth. He slipped his hand down to my lower back and pulled my body closer to his.

He teasingly lifted my shirt, his rough hands slid across my back, as he smiled into the kiss. We broke apart as he laid me down gently on the couch, his eyes wandered over me hungrily.

"May I?" he asked kindly again as he tugged at my shirt. I gave him a nod of affirmation.

He pulled my top off in one swift move as he pressed himself against me, urgently. I groaned as I felt his bulge hard against me as he kissed down my neck. My head sunk into the cushions as my body reactively arched against him, the heat of our bodies unbearable.

Our lips reconnected and I moved my hands down to unbutton his shirt, removing it hurriedly as the urge to be as close to his body as possible became excruciating.

My hands played with his hair as he placed gentle deliberate kisses down my throat to my collarbone. He reached my breast and bit his lip hesitating to unclasp my bra. He took a deep breath and looked at me, "Tony, it's okay".

"I just don't want you to be just a fling," he took a deep breath and he skipped it, venturing further south. I groaned as he teasingly kissed the insides of my thighs.

"Ohh… "I shuddered and shut my eyes as he very leisurely neared where I wanted him to be.

He stopped and retraced his trail back up my body. His face appeared over mine as he stared down at me; love, passion and desire filled his eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I thought you wanted to take it slow" He asked, still reluctant.

"I'm ready," I assured him, my hands raised to cup his face. I pulled him closer and stared into his dark green pools.

He beamed a genuine smile and kissed me passionately as his fingers slid underneath my shorts. And as our lips still locked he slowly maneuvered my shorts down.

_Riiing! Riiing!_

We both stopped and sighed as the phone rang. He moved to get up, I pulled him back down.

"Ignore it," I squeezed his hands.A smile grew on his face as I turned him over and straddled him; his hands came up to hold me firmly by the hips, "God you're beautiful, Ziva".

He moaned as I slowly kissed his soft spot, _which I had discovered while undercover_, while my hands busied themselves unbuckling and removing his pants. We both stopped short and exchanged looks as the answering machine recorded.

_Ziver, I really need to talk to you now… _There was a long pause before Gibbs' voice spoke again _…it's about yesterday, at your place. Come over as soon as you can._

"Anything I need to know about?" Tony looked at me, worried.

"No, because I have no idea what _it _is about," I sighed, getting up, "come on, we have to go". I said reluctantly as I pulled Tony up off the couch.

"We?" He scrunched his eyebrows together, "He said you".

"We need to tell him… about us". I looked at him for assurance, he nodded his head.

"So much for taking it slow," his eyes looked me up and down while he smiled charmingly, and then placed a tender kiss on my lips.

Xoxo

I hope you liked it, but I'm not really overall happy with this chapter. Anyways, Review for quick updates!

P.S: Constructive criticism always welcome!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Been so busy this week, 4 assignments due next week, anyways I tried my hardest to write this for ya. This chapter introduces Ducky, Abby and McGee into the scene. Hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 4**

Tony and I had cleaned ourselves up before we headed towards Gibbs place.

"We'll take my car," Tony insisted as we made our way downstairs.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to die," he teased, "especially now I have you in my life".

"Ok that was sleazy," I laughed as we got into the car.

He pulled out onto the street, glad there wasn't much traffic at this time. He could see that I was anxious about our decision to tell Gibbs. He reached over and grabbed my hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed it.

"It's going to be fine, I'll be right beside you," his eyes averted from the road to look at me.

"That's not what I'm worried about," I sighed, "Gibbs… has been a bit weird the past few days".

"Yeh I noticed that too," his eyes grew with concern. He picked up his speed and raced towards Gibbs house.

Xoxo

We got out of the car and as we approached Gibbs' house we noticed the door was slightly ajar. Gibbs always had his door unlocked, but they were never open.

"Get behind me," Tony whispered as we removed our guns from their holster. He pushed the door open and we split to different rooms as we searched the house. There was nothing out of the ordinary as I roamed around the house.

I bumped into Tony at the entrance to the basement, "clear so far". He raised his gun as he opened the door to the basement. We descended down the stairs, cautiously examining the room.

Tony lowered his gun and froze as he stepped onto the concrete floor. It took me a moment to adjust my eyes to the darkness to see the pool of blood that immerged from under the boat. I studied the area; still in shock.

I had a sudden flashback as I remembered the day Aristood there, a gun aimed at Gibbs head. He was not the person I had grown up with; the person who stood there was not my brother. And with no doubts and regrets I pulled the trigger and the bullet splintered through Ari's head; the basement was ringing with the piercing sound of the gun shot.

I could not believe what I had done until I stood over my brother's dead body, staring down at his soulless eyes, his blood pooled around my feet on the cold hard floor.

Tony moved closer towards the boat as he tried to get a glimpse of where the source of blood had come from. I could hear him gasp. I instantly moved to see, only to be hit with the same reaction.

Gibbs' motionless body lay against the inside of the boat. I pulled my cell out and dialed 911, while Tony stood there, mortified.

"Tony, has he got a pulse?" He looked at me dumbfounded; he regained his focus and pressed his fingers against Gibbs cold skin.

"Barely," We pulled Gibbs out to lie flat on the floor to examine him. We found a deep and long gash in Gibbs' side; Tony wrapped his shirt around the wound to slow down the rate of bleeding. The sound of the ambulance was getting louder and louder.

"Call Abby and the others," I nodded and went upstairs to check the house over as I called and informed the others.

The ambulance arrived and had taken Gibbs away immediately on the stretcher.

"You stay here and wait for the team okay?" Tony looked at me, his face filled with fear and worry. He gave me a quick peck on the lips before he left in the back of the ambulance, while Gibbs' life hung in the balance.

Xoxo

A short while later I heard screeches of tires as they came to a halt in the driveway. Abby stormed through the door, and the worry and anger in her voice would've scared any bad guy away.

"What happened? Abby's voice wavered through the house, while McGee and Ducky followed closely behind her.

"We don't know," I walked towards them, "when we got here, the door was open and we found Gibbs…".

I wiped away her tears, "We need to process the house, the quicker we get that done, we'll go visit Gibbs, okay?"

She nodded, "I will catch the bastard who did this to Gibbs," her voice barely audible through her sobs.

"I'll go to the hospital, to see what's happening and I'll send Tony back," Ducky announced as he left the house.

Xoxo

We were almost done inspecting the basement and the house when Tony arrived; his shirt still stained with Gibbs' blood.

"How's Gibbs?" Abby flew towards Tony and hugged him.

"He's lost a lot of blood," His eyes were tired and dull.

"And?"

"That's all I was told Abby, sorry," He let go of Abby and walked towards me and hugged me. He held onto me like a life line. Abby and McGee's eyes darted to us, strange looks were exchanged.

"Are you okay Tony?" I whispered into his ear, but my voice still echoed through the silence of the basement.

"Yeh," he pulled back to look into my eyes, "it just kinda hit me, that every day any one of us could get hurt, I mean… even Gibbs…".

I am never one to show affection in front of others, but the sadness that captivated Tony's eyes made me reach up and place a soft kiss of comfort onto his lips.

"Gibbs will be fine," I gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned.

"Have you guys finished processing everything?" He looked around the basement.

"Yeah, just finished the last of it," McGee confirmed as he still looked at us, aghasted.

"Alright, well you guys can take the stuff back to the lab and we'll meet you at the hospital?" We agreed and left Gibbs' house and sped towards the hospital.

Xoxo

We all sat in the waiting room, all on the edge of our seats as we waited for what seemed like hours.

"Family for… Jethro Gibbs?" The doctor walked out of the surgical theatre. We all stood and approached him, "Is he okay?" Abby was the first to voice out.

"He is stable for the moment, umm… he has lost a lot of blood and has been through a lot," The doctor started, "we lost him for a moment in there, but he's alright now, we were afraid of brain damage due to the blood loss, but he is very lucky and we see no signs of any lasting damages, he's in room 187 if you would like to visit," he smiled at us before being pulled aside by Ducky, who had further inquiries on his condition.

We could see Gibbs through the window as we arrived at his room. Abby's tears fell quicker as she ran up to his lifeless form and hugged him gently.

"Get better Gibbs! I'm going to catch the person who did this to you," she said, determination in her voice, "and when you wake up, I'll give you the biggest cup of coffee you have ever seen!"

"McGee you're coming with me!" she commanded as she dragged him out the door.

"Whaaa…? Why? I didn't get to say anything to him," McGee protested as he disappeared down the hall.

"If I don't get to see Gibbs, you don't either," Abby retorted.

Tony and I couldn't help but chuckle as we heard McGee groaned. We settled in the seats as we waited for Gibbs to wake.

Xoxo

Stay tuned... Reviews = Faster update XD ( If I get time )!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry it's taking awhile for me to get this up; I just couldn't get my ideas down the way I wanted it. Not entirely happy with this, but it'll have to do…

**Chapter 5**

My eyes adjusted to the bright light of the morning sun, as I familiarized myself with my surroundings. A smile played on my face as Tony's arms wrapped around me protectively; his head positioned in the crook of my neck.

I studied his gorgeous features, his beautiful green eyes closed shut, and his perfectly defined nose snuggled into my hair. Stubble had begun to grow around his luscious lips, which were begging to be kissed. He stirred and his eyes slowly crept open to meet mine.

"Good morning sweet cheeks," he greeted me tiredly and kissed me softly on my lips.

"Hey, you two done playing grab ass?" Our heads turned to see Gibbs wide awake with his eyebrows arched.

Tony gently released me, and we both walked towards Gibbs, "Hey boss, how are you doing?"

"You guys were going to tell me, right?" He ignored Tony's question and darted his eyes between us.

"Yes Gibbs, we were planning to tell you last night," I looked him in the eyes, "I should go call Abby".

"She's already here," He smiled and pointed to the bathroom, which Abby stepped out of grinning.

"So boss, do you remember what happened to you last night?"

"Well I saw his face, but I'm not quite sure who it was," Gibbs sighed, "he was trained though".

I shot Tony a look, and he immediately understood, "Abby, let's go get some breakfast," He pulled her out of the room. I waited until the door closed shut before I spoke.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

He looked around for any cameras, spotting one he covered his mouth before his spoke, "Ziva, Vance is not who he says he is," I looked at him, not quite understanding what he meant.

"I stumbled upon some things, and he threatened to hire people to kill me, Ziva… I think Vance put the hit on me last night," I could see the fear present in his eyes, "Go to work, don't tell anyone, and don't worry about me, just stay alert, okay?" I nodded my head and changed the topic instantly before anyone else could hear.

"So… are you okay that Tony and I are dating?"

"Haha, I've always known that you two would, sooner or later," he chuckled, "just keep it out of the office". He closed his eyes, a smile on his face.

Tony and Abby entered the room, burritos in hand, "Your favourite," he rummaged through the bag looking for mine.

"Boss, got you one too, but I wasn't sure if you could have it… since you're still in recovery," Gibbs stared at him, "of course you can". Abby and I laughed at the exchange.

Gibbs motioned Tony to lean in closer, he gladly leant in and received a sharp smack to the back of his head, "What was that for?" he whined, rubbing the back of his head.

"That's for breaking rule twelve, now you guys should better get back to the office, you've got a mission," Gibbs looked at me intently, "DiNozzo, take care of the team".

"Yes boss".

Xoxo

"Anthony, how is Jethro doing? Has he woken up yet?" Ducky stood from Gibbs' desk, excited and relieved to see us.

"He's up and doing well, Ducky".

"Oh that is good news," Ducky smiled, "well I better get going, I still have an autopsy to complete".

Vance snuck up behind us all, "It's 0830 but we're still going to go ahead with the mission". We all nodded, we had all been briefed on the mission, so all we needed to do was set up the gear and we were on our way.

"Wow McNerd, I didn't think you could look any nerdier," Tony laughed as McGee entered dressed in pants so high, that I could not help but agree with Tony's remarks.

"DiNozzo, David you will be meeting up with Petty Officer James Cole later tonight at the bar," Vance turned towards Abby, "Ms Sciuto, you link yourself up with McGee when he's on the inside, I want to know everything that is happening in there". Abby left to her lab, while the rest of us made our way to the garage.

Tony gassed the black "Undercover Op" van, while McGee and I loaded all the necessities into the back. The plan was for us to park outside the back of the building to have a visual on McGee before he enters and confirm that McGee was not being followed or compromised during his time in the building.

McGee arrived in his car out front, "no trouble so far," he spoke into the mic that was hooked up in one of his molars. He strolled in the front door, revealing a small room with a few seats placed by the walls and an office desk; behind sat a female clerk with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Okay McGee, good job, I've got a clear visual, make sure you take a good look at everyone's face," Abby's voice was accompanied by the continuous tapping of her keyboard.

"Hi, I'm Tom Meyers," McGee introduced himself to the clerk, "I'm starting as the new computer technician, could you tell me where to go?"

The clerk gladly gave him directions, "straight down the hall and turn right, third door to your left would be your office".

McGee followed the directions, making sure to have a glimpse of as many faces as he could. He reached the door he was instructed to. He opened the door to find nothing but a file cabinet, desk, chairs and a Mac.

"Awesome," McGee smiled to himself; he carefully closed the door and explored with his new computer, "we so have to get one of this".

"McGee concentrate!" Tony barked which was accompanied by my laughing. It took a few seconds before McGee had bypassed the computer stuff he went on and on about, and connected with Abby through an almost untraceable link.

Suddenly the door opened, "Hi, are you Thomas Meyer?" the man asked as he glanced down at his clipboard.

"Yes".

"Well I'll be your boss, but you can call me Karl" he smiled a crooked smile and handed the clipboard to McGee, "here's a list of things you need to do, if you need anything, just ask".

Tony and I were both puzzled while McGee showed us what he was suppose to do, "McGeek, the only work I understand from that is _of_". McGee and Abby both laughed in unison.

The rest of the day was boring as we watched McGee type weird things which consisted of a jumble of words and numbers into the computer. Tony and I took turns to stock up on coffee and snacks.

"Man I hate stakeouts," Tony complained as he adjusted his neck into a better position.

"It's not that bad".

"Oh really? What's worse?"

"Doing what McGee is doing".

"True".

"Actually it's not that hard, if you understand all the codes it really is very simple," McGee interrupted.

"Probie, we didn't say it was hard, we said it was bad," We chuckled, while McGee groaned.

"Guys!" Abby called through the speakers, "I got a match on the fingerprint I found on Gibbs' boat!"

"Who?" We all asked in unison.

Xoxo

OoOoOoh! Reviews! Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

Wow it's already been five days! Sorry it's taking such a long time to get this story going. I'll try my best to write more and quicker. Here's Chapter 6! (I apologize for any mistakes)

**Chapter 6**

"Well it wasn't off AFIS, the search ventured overseas…" Abby gasped, her voice sounded confused, "Oh my, It's… Officer Amit Hadar".

The smile on my face fell as I remembered him, the past summer and all the shit that went down. Tony's hand rose to gently caress my cheek, "Ziva, are you okay?" His face concerned, pulling me back to reality. The man that sat in front of me came to save me; and I owe him my life for that.

I smiled and nodded it off, "Abby, when did he arrive?"

"Four days ago, landed on a private jet straight from Tel Aviv, do you think it has something to do with your… father?" Abby hesitated.

"He is not my father, he is just the director of Mossad," I spoke, anger rose in me as I heard Abby associate the word father to _him_, "and I can think of a million reasons why he would send Hadar to hurt Gibbs".

"If Gibbs is still alive…" I paused as I began to piece together the puzzle. _Hadar. Vance. Eli._ I had to tell Tony, I had to tell someone, even though Gibbs told me not to. But I can't tell him here.

"Abby cover for us, we're going to go grab a snack," I quickly said and pulled a puzzled Tony out of the car towards a park a few minutes away.

I signaled for him to sit down on the park bench before I spoke, "Tony, Gibbs told me that he had stumbled on something … relating to Vance," Tony's face scrunched up in confusion, "Vance threatened to hire people to kill Gibbs if he spoke about it," I stopped to let him comprehend the information.

"Tony… Gibbs thinks Vance was the one to put the hit on him, and if that is so then Vance and Eli must be working together".

"I knew it, they've been friends having their little thing going on since the beginning," Tony stood, releasing his anger.

"Tony, we can't tell anyone," I rose to stand next to him, "Vance only thinks Gibbs knows".

"What if they're still after Gibbs? We've gotta protect him".

"We'll figure something out". I hastened back towards the car, Tony trailed behind me.

"Guy's thank god you're back! I've got more bad news," Abby sighed.

"Well what is it Abby?"

"Officer Amit Hadar was found dead last night washed up on the shore," Tony and I exchanged looks. This was going to end badly.

McGee had completed his first day of work and we all left back to the NCIS head quarters to update Vance.

Xoxo

As we rode up the elevator, Tony had seemed very nervous and kept fidgeting with his hands and hair. I bumped him on the side to knock him out of it when it had seemed too obvious he was worried over something. But McGee as always, was still oblivious to the whole situation.

McGee led us up the stairs and smiled at Vance's new assistant. She intercom Vance and informed him of our arrival, "You may go in".

We walked in one by one and stopped in front of his desk and turned towards Vance as he rose from his seat.

"McGee how was your first day," Vance chewed on his toothpick.

"Ahh, I was able to hack into their system and connect it with Abby's computer, so we'll be able to access everything," McGee said proudly, unaware of who the man really was in front of him.

"That's good work McGee," he turned his sickening face towards Tony and I, "You two ready for tonight?"

"Yes sir," Tony spoke almost automatically like a robot. We exchanged nods and left his office.

"Shall we visit Gibbs after the bar?" I suggested as we all descended the stairs back down to the bullpen.

"Of course! I haven't had the chance to talk to him yet, I heard he's up already though," McGee smiled.

"No you're not McGee! You have to help me until I'm done so then I can see Gibbs too," Abby ran in, out of nowhere. McGee groaned, not bothering to argue for he knew he would lose, or end up being killed without any evidence left behind.

Xoxo

Tony and I entered the bar and scanned for Petty Officer James Cole. Tony nudged me softly and directed with his head towards where Cole was sitting. I grabbed his hand and led him towards the empty seats next to our Petty Officer.

We made small conversation as we approach so we seemed like we were just there to enjoy ourselves. I pondered for awhile as to how I would begin our little "friendship" with Cole. An idea pooped into my head (or was it popped?).

I searched for an item that I could drop and allow Cole to "pick up" for me; my eyes fell on my phone that rested on the bench. I didn't hesitate dropping the phone; the phone wasn't that expensive anyways, and Gibbs has gone through way too many.

I acted as if I'd accidentally pushed my phone to the floor, and Tony eyed me; wondering what I was doing. His eyes moved towards Cole as he reached down and pick it up, and a goofy smile appeared on his face.

"Ma'am I think you dropped your phone," I turned around as Cole tapped me on the shoulder.

"Why, thank you," I took it from him, my body now positioned towards him, "here let me buy you a drink". He didn't reject and ordered himself a drink.

"I'm Ziva by the way," I offered my hand for him to shake.

"James, James Cole," He introduced.

"Ahh, like James Bond… love your name, I'm Tony," Tony butted in.

"Hey Tony, doesn't James here look like Jimmy from work?" I turned and winked at Tony to play along.

"Not really, it's just the haircut, like when you're in the navy," Tony looked at Cole, "oh are you in the navy?"

"Yeah, I've been in the navy for seven years now, and I love it," He took a swig of his drink. We talked for about an hour or so, before he said he had to leave. We exchanged numbers and he thanked us for the drinks.

"Well that was rather… interesting," I said, while Tony paid, "he doesn't seem like he's hiding anything at all".

"I agree, now let's go," His hand found its way to my back and led my out of the bar to the car.

Xoxo

We had called Abby and McGee on our way to the hospital. They informed us they were on their way too and would be there in 15 minutes.

We arrived first, five minutes ahead of them. We entered the lobby, the room nearly empty except for a mother and son probably waiting for someone.

"Knowing Gibbs he's probably threatened all the nurses to let him go already," Tony laughed, as we walked further into the hospital.

"No, that'd be me," I corrected him.

"Umm, no, you would have already escaped, Gibbs would still be in the bed," He continued laughing. Tony opened Gibbs' door upon our arrival. We froze, our smiles faltered.

"Where's Gibbs?" Tony merely whispered.

Xoxo

Cliffys! Don't we all just love them? Reviews!

P.S Gibbs's isn't in the toilet…


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Woot! I managed to get this written, Sorry it took so long and for any mistakes I made below. Anyways enjoy!

**Chapter 7**

Tony and I scurried around the room, making sure he hadn't fallen from his bed and ended up on the floor or in the bathroom.

"Tony… "I pointed to the bed where a note splattered with blood laid. Abby and McGee walked in, their faces suddenly fell, "Where's Gibbs?" Abby spoke first.

"We don't know," Tony exhaled while he examined the note, "but someone left us a note". Abby darted towards the bed, pushing us aside while she observed the piece of paper.

"What's it say?" McGee asked, still recovering from his shock.

"It says," Abby read the note over again with her eyes, "We'll take care of your boss…"

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Well I don't know McGee, all I know is that Gibbs is in trouble".

"How do you know that?"

Abby stared at McGee, "Because that's what my gut says!" The tension between the two grew, like blowing a balloon so big that it would burst if a fly landed on it.

"Probie, process all the fingerprints," Tony interrupted the awkward tension.

"All of the fingerprints? There's so many Tony," McGee whined.

"Well McWhiney if you don't want to find Gibbs, that's okay," McGee left instantly to retrieve the gear he needed.

"Abby, could you do something with the note?" I asked.

"Well, I'm going to run the DNA on the blood and then hopefully get something off of the ink and script," Abby held back her tears and pulled on a pair of gloves and bagged and tagged the note before she left.

McGee re-entered the room, gear in hand. He placed the gear down and began with processing all the fingerprints. Tony sighed and grabbed the camera to take photos.

"Well, I'll start with the security cameras," I announced and made to leave the room.

Xoxo

Two hours later, we were all back at the office, McGee was busy eliminating all the fingerprints he had collected. Meanwhile Abby was downstairs running the blood sample and pulling as much information as she could from the little evidence she had.

Tony and I were watching through all the security tapes for any suspicious behavior or people that had roamed the floor of Gibbs' room.

"The only people that went in there was us, and the nurses," I pointed out, frustrated. Just as we were going to switch the tape, a familiar figure popped up on the corner of the screen and entered Gibbs' room.

"Vance," Tony spat his name and turned to me, "we've gotta tell Abby".

"I agree, but we can't tell her here," I sighed.

"Yeah," he looked around while he formulated a plan in his head, "Come on, let's go get her".

We arrived at Abby's lab with the familiar "_ding"_. We walked in to hear no music.

"Hey Abby, no music?" Tony stood next to her as he studied the jumble of words and symbols from something she was in the middle of searching.

"No, and sorry but I've got nothing, na da, zilch!" she waved her hands around. Immediately after, her computer started to ring, "but, now I do".

"Okay, we've got a hit on the blood sample," she clicked around, opening files, "that's rather odd; the blood belongs to Officer Amit Hadar".

We all exchanged puzzled looks, "So, the only lead we have is dead and we still have no idea who has Gibbs".

"Abby, we need to talk to you," I tilted my head towards the window, "outside".

"Why?" She hesitantly followed us out of the door. We found a quiet spot outside, making sure there was no one close enough to hear us.

"Abby, Gibbs thinks Vance put the hit on him," her hand rose to cover her mouth.

"We think Vance is working with Eli and they sent Hadar".

"Oh my god!" Abby raced inside back to her lab, we trailed her closely as she sped through the building.

"I knew it! I knew I recognized the writing," Abby analyzed the note closer, "the hand writing belongs to the one and only… Vance," she clicked around on her computer and sent the image to the big screen, "see! On the left is Vance's report and to the right, our note!"

"Okay, so we know who it is, but we don't know where he is," Tony ran through the information we had.

McGee appeared through the door, "Guys, no luck, there's no fingerprints that seem suspicious or out of place".

"Did you find Vance's fingerprints?" McGee scanned through his papers.

"Actually yes, why?" McGee looked down to confirm his findings.

"This doesn't make any sense, Vance wouldn't be so clumsy," I pointed out.

"That is true, so is someone controlling Vance?" Abby suggested.

"Ahh guys? What are you talking about?" McGee butted in.

"Tim! Just go find where Gibbs is," Tony demanded.

"Well, how? I've got no lead…"

"Find a lead!" Tony snapped, McGee flinched at Tony's sudden outburst and wandered off.

"Tony, it is not his fault," I touched him on his hand to offer the little comfort that I could.

"Where is Vance now?"

"I saw him making his way to his office about an hour and a half ago," Tony answered, letting go of the breath he held to calm himself.

"So that means Gibbs disappeared somewhere between sometime yesterday and four hours ago," I paced around the room.

"Why is Vance here so late?" My eyes averted to the clock; 12:27.

"That is a good question, stop pacing around I can't think," Tony pulled me back to his side.

"Well I can't think if I'm not pacing," Suddenly both engrossed in each other to bother about the world.

"Guys, concentrate!" Abby nearly shouted. All of a sudden Tony's eyes lit up and he darted out of the room. Abby hit the answer button almost instantaneously on the first ring.

"Abby, have you scanned the substance I found at the hospital?" McGee asked hurriedly.

"It's still running McGee, I'll call you back as soon as I get the results," Abby disconnected him. Tony reappeared with all the tapes we had brought back from the hospital in his hands.

"We haven't finished going through all of it, there's got to be something more," Tony smiled.

"Oh… fun," Abby wore a disappointed look on her face, "but I'll do it for Gibbs!"

We spent the next few hours drowsily scanning through the tapes, one after the other. Abby had dosed off a few times, her head drooped to the side and jerked back up. Tony sat beside me and I could feel him hold his breath unintentionally every time it seemed like we had something.

"There!" I shouted out of nowhere and frightening Abby and Tony, "rewind it, there! That's Gibbs!"

"Okay Abby could you enhance the face on the guy next to him," Everyone got up and moved towards the computer.

"Already have," Abby's fingers did it's magic and within seconds we had identified the "_kidnapper",_ "This is not good," Abby paused and pointed to the screen, "Eli David has Gibbs"…

Xoxo

Eli's in town and he got Gibbs? Reviews!


	8. Chapter 8

I have finished writing the story so I'll be quicker on the updates. Enjoy!

**Chapter 8**

We were all in shock after receiving the recently discovered information. _In my head I could not register this; I didn't want to believe it. But it is no secret that my____'father' disliked Gibbs for 'stealing' me away from him. Though it is true my loyalty no longer lie with Eli but with Gibbs and the team. Gibbs has in many ways become the father that I never had. Eli was nothing but dead to me, but now he is here, and he has Gibbs…_

Tony's hand around my waist pulled me back to reality as he reassured me everything was going to be okay. I knew deep inside that this was not going to end up well. Someone will get hurt, there's no doubt about that. I forced a smile, worry and fear still filled me.

Tony pulled all three of us together into his 'campfire' and whispered to us, "Alright so what we know right now is, Eli kidnapped Gibbs, Hadar is dead and Vance is somewhere in the middle of all of this". We all shook our head in agreement.

"We have to consider that Vance might already know that we're onto something, he must have eyes around here," We all paused and looked around for anything suspicious.

We all jumped as McGee entered the room, "Geez McGee, don't do that!" Abby whacked him on the arm.

"Anything new McGoo?" Tony asked impatiently after recovering from his sudden fright.

"Nothing from the fingerprints but if what I assumed the unknown substance is correct, we just may have a lead".

"What exactly are you assuming it is?" I walked around of the table to examine the substance in Mass Spec.

"I believe it is a rare resin that's found in a newly manufactured necklace, I thought of getting one when I was in Israel," McGee nearly instantaneously stopped and looked at me apologetically.

"We do not need to worry about the past," I assured him, "So how would the resin of the necklace lead us anywhere?"

"It would narrow our search down to people who have purchased this necklace…" McGee was interrupted by Tony, "Well anyone could have bought it, from anywhere McSmartyPants".

"Well it's not a cheap necklace Tony, I can track purchasers through the companies that sell them," McGee and Tony's face were inches away, both fighting to see who was best. It had all begun since their intense debate about who was the 'sidekick'. Thank god Mass Spec chose then to beep.

Abby bounced over to it and examined the results, "Well McGee, we're in luck! What we have here is definitely resin," Her face contorted, "but it's weird… there's some sort of snake type venom that was picked up as well, though I don't know if it was internally applied or externally, which can make like a heap of difference especially if they used this to harm Gibbs, Oh my gosh! Gibbs could die!" She spoke all in one breath.

"Calm down Abby," Tony patted her on the back.

"I'll get straight on tracking any customers that is currently in the states," McGee left hurriedly.

We all gathered around the computer again, "Okay, how 'bout Tony and I tail Vance while McGee tries to get something from his lead?"

"Good idea, he might just lead us straight to Gibbs, even though he's probably not that stupid but it's definitely worth a try!" Abby gave us a tracker that we could place on Vance's personal items, so we won't lose him.

"That's going to be an almost impossible task for us to get this on him," Tony complained, pointing at the little tracker.

"Don't worry! I'll get it on him in a blink of an eye, you go get the car ready," I said grabbing the tracker and made my way upstairs to the bullpen. The whole office was nearly empty except for McGee and two other agents working away busily. I kept my eye on them for the first 5 minutes, making sure they had not notice that I was there.

I spent nearly 10 minutes at the corner of the room waiting for Vance to call it a day or was it 'morning' since it was already 0100. I re-gathered my thoughts and waited.

The time finally arrived as he descended the stairs. With timed precision I walked with a stack of papers in hand, I walked towards him as I pretended to be engrossed on the paper in my hand. I gave myself a mental head slap for carrying a bunch of blank paper in my hands. I bumped straight into him, sending the papers flying everywhere.

"Oh my, I am so sorry," He placed his suit case down to help me. _Perfect_. I leaned over just enough to place the tracker on his case before I continued to gather the papers.

"Thank you, have a good night," I acted innocently and returned to my desk.

McGee eyed me suspiciously; after the elevator doors closed he spoke, "What was that all about?"

"I bumped into the director, did you not see?" I said simply. He shrugged it off and continued on his computer. I waited for a minute before I gathered my stuff and raced down the stairs, hoping I had not lost the director completely.

I ran to the car Tony was sitting very still in, "Ab's where's he heading?"

"He's turned left onto Main and it looks like he's heading towards the industrial side of town," Tony started the car and carefully sped off towards Vance's car.

It had not taken long until we caught up to Vance; Tony pulled back and tailed him from a good distance behind him to not cause any suspicion.

Vance pulled to the side and parked his car in front of a run downed three-storey building. We stopped about 20 yards behind him, being as discreet as possible. The street was hardly lit, which made it hard to see what he was doing.

We could barely make out his movements, he removed his bag from his car before he entered the building, after nearly two minutes, "Alright let's go," Tony spoke and exited the car.

Tony led the way as we slowly crept up the building. We surveyed the area for any cameras. It was clear, literally nothing was suspicious about the place.

I peeped through the corner of the window, "I can barely see anything, there's literally no light in there," I whispered.

We snuck up towards the door, listening for any voices. It was completely silent, which was weird. We opted to not burst our way through the door, instead I picked the lock and we slowly and quietly entered the building.

Tony pushed in front of me, making sure I was in no danger. _Now I understood why there was a Rule 12, you would do anything to protect the other_. I followed closely behind him.

Room after room, there was still no sign of Gibbs or Vance. Or anyone for the matter of a fact. We reached the end of the hallway, a single door left. Tony lifted his finger to his lips, I nodded. He turned the knob and within a split of a second we both had our guns pointed at him, his face in full shock…

**TBC! Reviews for faster update!**


	9. Chapter 9

Second last chapter! We're nearly there, sorry if the fight scene isn't good enough for you.

**Chapter 9**

"What the hell?" He shouted a little taken aback, but immediately lifted his hands in the air.

"Who are you?" I inquired, still puzzled; it was definitely the man that we had thought was Vance. But in the darkness of the dim lit street we could've easily mistaken this 6 foot tall bald man as Vance.

"Agent Sanders, NCIS," He identified himself and flashed us his badge. We lowered our guns, and his masculine frame collapsed onto the bed, still shocked from the sudden attack.

"What are you doing here?" Tony's voice echoed in the room.

"I..I.. Live here," Agent Sanders stuttered, fear evident in his dark eyes.

"You're a federal agent and you live in this?" Tony raised his hands to indicate the dodgy loft and chuckled; I nudged him in the side, "Right".

"Why do you have the director's suitcase?" Tony asked and pointed to the black leather case that was leaning on the wall.

"What? It isn't the Directors, it's mine," he rose to grab the suitcase. His face turned to shock when he noticed that it was indeed not his suitcase, "It must be some mistake, I swear I would never!"

"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble for taking that," Tony said while he checked the room for anything else.

"We'll take it though, the director will be needing it," I smiled and took it from his hands. He nodded, not quite sure what to say.

We double checked all the rooms as we back tracked our way through the building before we left the premises.

"Did you see Vance swap suit cases with him?" I asked as I hopped into the car; I could not help but wonder if maybe even Agent Sanders was in on all of this. Tony sighed and gave himself a slap on the head.

"It is not your fault Tony," He nodded and dialed for Abby.

"TONY! Did you get him?" Abby's voice rang through the car.

"Abby, it wasn't Vance".

"What? What do you mean?" the disappointment of Abby's voice becoming more evident.

"Agent Sanders somehow got the bugged suitcase."

"I think Vance is onto us," I added.

"We'll talk more when we get back," Tony ended the call and started the car. The ride was completely silent as we both reflected on what we could've done wrong. The silence was broken by the ring of Tony's phone. He answered it.

"Tony! Vance just made a call, I tracked him to the abandoned warehouse just two blocks down from Agent Sanders," The car came to a sudden halt as Tony did a U-turn and sped off towards the direction we had just came from.

"Thank Abs, do you know who he called?" we both stared at the phone expectantly.

"The call was too short so I couldn't trace who he was calling".

"Okay, good job Abs, put a Caf-Pow on my tab, and also fill McGee in, we might need him," and with that Tony ended the call once again as we began to close in on the warehouse.

Exactly 217 seconds later we arrived. Tony parked a few yards from the warehouse, just in case. We had immediately spotted Vance's car out front. We exchanged looks both knowing that this could be it.

"You know I never wanted to have to say it under these circumstances but," he took a deep breath, "I love you Ziva… and whatever happens inside I want you to know that".

It took me a moment to register what he had just said. And suddenly all the fears of what we would face inside the warehouse faded. Because _he_ said it will all be okay and because _he_ has always had my back, _he _was the one that crossed the ocean to save me…

I placed my hand on his, "I love you too Tony", He leaned in to kiss me, but I pulled away, "let's save Gibbs first," he smiled his most charming smile before getting out of the car.

We pulled out our guns and headed towards the door. This time we could hear a soft conversation between at least three men. There were no windows for us to look through; we'd just have to go in blind.

"What if it's not them?" Tony asked, fearful.

"I can pick my father's voice from a crowd of a thousand," I said, determined. I picked the lock again, making sure that they were in full conversation so that they could not hear the door opening.

As I opened the door we were met with two men that stood on the opposite side of the room. They ran at us and like a synchronized team we sprang into action and shot them both in their chests, their bodies fell slowly to the ground. It was now down to business; the others would've heard the gunshot and be making their way towards us.

We ran behind the crates for cover. The first man that appeared from the door was the one and only… Eli. My breath hitched and my heart stopped beating for a second; I was determined to kill him before. But now doubts ran through my head, for he was my father after all. He raised me up, maybe it wasn't the most ethical way but he fed and clothed me.

I gathered my thoughts and pushed out the doubts. I gripped the gun tighter and aimed with all the precision I had and fired.

The bullet pierced through his head and his lifeless body fell to the ground.

"Don't kill Vance, we might need him to talk," I whispered to Tony before focusing back at the men in front of us, aiming my gun as they all emptied from the other room.

The mesh of gunfire lasted for the next three minutes, Tony and I carefully timed our movements as we hid behind boxes of possibly illegal goods. One after another then men dropped to the ground, they stood no chance against us.

The whole warehouse came to a complete silence; there was still one more gunman at the opposite end. I could hear Tony huffing beside me and in the very far right corner I could hear the footsteps that did not belong to either of us.

I contemplated for a second than signaled for Tony to move left, as I moved towards the right. I snuck quietly on my toes behind the crate. I waited for a few seconds before I spun out, aimed and pulled the trigger.

There were three shots that rang out, and that was it. The other man collapsed to the ground, blood seeped from his wounds. I let go of the breath I unintentionally held and observed the scene before me.

Six men laid dead on the ground at the right of the warehouse, another three on the left. In the middle laid Eli, his eyes still wide open, nothing left but black orbs that bore no emotion; not that they ever did in the first place.

We had spared Vance's life; he groaned on the ground, one gunshot administered in his shoulder, the other in his leg.

I sat against the crate, glad it was all over. Tony approached me while he dialed for the ambulance and immediately after, informed Abby of our situation and to send McGee and back-up.

He bent down to help me up, "Oww!" I winced as I placed pressure onto my left leg. In the midst of the intense fight I had not notice that I had suffered a bullet to my leg; blood seeped profusely from the wound.

"Oh god Ziva," He lowered me back down behind the crate and tended to my wound, he ripped the lower part of my cargo pants off.

"Usually you'd make a funny joke here," I smiled and tried to enlighten the moment, but instead I was met with a face filled with concern and pain. He removed his shirt and tied it around the wound to apply more pressure.

"Hold on to it, I'll be right back I'm going to look for Gibbs okay?" He kissed me on the forehead before reluctantly leaving my side. I heard his footsteps getting further and the creak of the door.

My vision became fuzzy after awhile; the shirt was nearly soaked through with blood. And now that the adrenaline had died down, the throbbing pain in my leg was getting more severe. I could hear the ambulance getting closer, possibly with McGee and back-up. I just had to hold on a little longer.

It felt like a lifetime until the ambulance finally arrived with McGee and a few other agents.

"OVER HERE!" I shouted as loud as I could. Two paramedics made their way to me and asked me the procedural questions of my condition.

"Ma'am we're going to take care of you, you just relax," they reassured me. I felt myself become drowsier as my eyes began to droop.

"Wouldn't call her ma'am if I were you," I could hear Tony's voice; I smiled just before I drifted into unconsciousness.

Xoxo

Next chapter will be the last! Review!


	10. Chapter 10

The last chapter everybody! Hope you are not disappointed, Thank you to all the people who have read this story and reviewed, it is very much appreciated!

**Chapter 10**

My eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the bright light that shone through the blinds. My body ached all over and it took me a second to realize I was in a hospital.

Hospitals. I have hated hospitals all my life; I did not need people to take care of me. It was a place that acknowledged that you were weak; you were weak enough to be defeated by another. In other words; you failed.

I tried to lift my hands but it was weighted down by something or rather someone; my eyes made its way down to the warm fury thing on my arm. It was Tony, fast asleep; a smile grew on my face. He looked incredibly peaceful as he slept, his body rising up and down in a steady rhythm.

"You're one lucky girl," I jumped a little as the nurse appeared out of nowhere and whispered while she placed the pills along with a cup of water on the side table.

"What do you mean?" I furrowed my eyebrows and swallowed the pills with the water.

"He's been here for 26 hours," she pointed towards Tony,"and that's not even including the surgery time… hasn't left your side since," she smiled and left.

I could feel Tony begin to stir his eyes slowly opened, which was followed by a huge yawn, "Good Mornin' sweet cheeks".

I decided to play a prank on him, just to get back at him for all the times he teased me, "Wwhhoo.. are you?" I mustered the most convincing persona I could.

He looked at me for a minute a little confused, then made his way to the end of the bed, I eyed him suspiciously; but still not giving myself away. He picked up the clipboard and read it, "Nice try, but you don't have any concussions". He chuckled.

"Aww, I thought I had you there for a second," I laughed, "I heard you haven't left the hospital yet".

"Yeh…"

"I thought you hated hospitals," He made his way back to my side.

"Well, not when my Crazy Ninja Chick is here," he grinned and slipped on his jacket.

Abby entered the room, and broke out into a run towards me; she placed the black roses and get well balloons on the table beside me before she enveloped me in a huge hug.

"You're up!" she let go of me, "I'm so glad you're okay, don't ever do that again!"

"Oh, that reminds me, did you guys find Gibbs? Is he okay?" I asked, rather anticipated to hear that Gibbs was fine.

"Yes, he was unconscious when Tony found him, nothing serious though just a little dehydration, but he's actually been up and about for nearly 10 hours now," Abby reassured me, as she pulled a chair up to the side of my bed.

"And Vance?" Abby's face turned grim, and for a second I felt like I shouldn't have asked at all.

"Vance is being investigated by the FBI, as far as we know he and Eli have been working since the start, like way before, when you guys all split up apparently it was Eli's plan to gain back your loyalty and all that…," Abby slowed down as she touched on the sensitive topic.

"Do you know what's going to happen with Mossad? I mean they'll be needing a new Director…" I flashed back to the moment my finger pulled on the trigger. It had definitely felt good; especially when I was sure he had definitely spotted me. He looked at me as if daring me to go for it, take a shot if you dare. But there was no way that he could've made me feel sorry for him. He sent me on missions to die, he deserved it.

"Well we're not really updated on that, but I'm sure it'll be announced pretty soon," McGee strolled in, a bag of bagels and three cups of coffee in hand.

For the next hour or so we all devoured in the bagels McGee had brought. Small conversations were made about the past few days.

"I wonder who will be the new Director," Tony raised his eyebrows, as we all calmed down from our previous conversation.

"That'd be me," The silver haired man dressed in the hospital gown walked in. Everyone burst into laughter, "I'm so sorry boss, but it's kinda hard to take you seriously in that outfit".

"Well… it's true, starting as of Monday," He pulled a chair and joined us.

"Then what's going to happen to us? Team Gibbs?" Abby pouted, half excited that Gibbs was becoming Director but half disappointed that the Team would have to break up.

Gibbs gave us a half smile and pointed towards Tony, "Meet your new team leader".

"Wow, really? Me, boss?" Tony's face was in shock, but we'd all expected it to happen. He had done a great job leading our team back when Gibbs had quit and joined Franks down in Mexico. Especially in the circumstances then; Tony had to pick the team up after we'd all fallen so low. But now Gibbs would still be around, which means a happier Abby and a happier team.

"Yeah, just one thing DiNozzo, please just don't dress like me, the way you did last time," Gibbs smiled and left the room.

We all laughed, except Tony who turned the light shade of red, "I think I looked okay…"

It wasn't long until everybody began to depart. Abby and McGee had decided to throw Gibbs a "Congratulations" party; well it was more of Abby's idea which McGee was forced to take part in. They departed with Gibbs for lunch around 1130 to the new all you can eat shop that just opened down the street last week.

Tony had left at 1145 and gone grocery shopping to stock up and to pick up a new movie for us to watch later tonight. He arrived back around 1430 just before I signed my release from the hospital.

"Oh I hate hospitals," I sighed and we laughed. It was great to breathe the fresh air instead of the sterilized air of the hospital.

I stood beside the car for a minute and admired the trees, birds and the shine of the sun on my skin. Tony drove us to my apartment where he'd cleaned and stocked up the fridge earlier in the day. He was such a gentleman when he wanted to be.

I now sat in my living room reading a book, only just left the hospital a mere hour ago. I loved the comfort and security of my home, to know that there was a place that I could let my walls down and just relax was a blessing.

And though it has taken about five years to realize and finally admit that _I love Tony,_ I am glad it had taken this long. Our journey together has allowed us to bond in a very unique way, where we learned about each other without even knowing it. Together we've been through about everything possible, good and bad, life and death.

He walked out of the bathroom, fresh from a long shower and settled next to me on the soft couch. His smelt of lavender as he invaded my personal space.

"You've been using my shampoo again," he smiled and slowly removed the book from my hands and placed it on the table. His face slowly inched closer towards my face.

"Now that we've found Gibbs…" he closed the distance and kissed me tenderly, it was filled with great passion as we savored it for as long as we could.

Home. This was truly home, surrounded by things that I loved…

With someone who loved me. Rescued me…

_Because he couldn't live without me…_

_**Fin**_

Well this is the end, I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for following me on this tremendous journey!


End file.
